A Crushing Victory and a Troubling Discovery

Crushing.

It was a crushing victory, utterly beyond dispute. The moment the white-haired elder announced the start of the match, Zhu Yan became like a fish on a chopping block, entirely at Su Hanxing’s mercy, with virtually no ability to retaliate.

Upon hearing Zhu Yan’s decisive surrender, Su Hanxing, a hint of disappointment in his eyes, slowly released his great bow. Then, he dispelled the celestial phenomena that had manifested behind him.

“The match concludes! Su Hanxing of the Tianyan Sect successfully defended the arena!” The elder, his voice like a resounding bell, declared the outcome of the match.

“Our Senior Brother won!”

“That Zhu Yan was no match for Senior Brother at all; he couldn’t even put up a fight.”

“If only I’d known Senior Brother was so formidable, I wouldn’t have worried for so long.”

Seeing Zhu Yan concede, the Tianyan Sect disciples erupted in cheers, filling the air with boisterous excitement. In stark contrast, the Heart God Sect’s side was plunged into a dead silence.

“Hmph, this Zhu Yan truly brought shame upon our Heart God Sect.” After a long silence, an inner disciple from the Heart God Sect finally spoke, their voice laced with disdain and their face twisted into a sneer. The remaining Heart God Sect disciples remained silent, yet the expressions of disgust on their faces were utterly undisguised.

To these inner disciples, Zhu Yan was nothing more than a dog kept by the Heart God Sect’s leadership. Even if he had died in battle here, they would not have felt a shred of pity. His crushing defeat, however, had caused them to lose face, fueling their intense anger.

From atop the arena, Su Hanxing put away his weapon, then turned to look at Chi Qiu and the assembled Tianyan Sect disciples. With a gentle leap and a smile gracing his lips, he descended from the platform and strode purposefully towards Chi Qiu and the others.

Seeing that Su Hanxing wasn’t rushing to leave the arena, but instead was walking towards Chi Qiu, the Tianyan Sect disciples’ faces lit up with joy. As he approached, they all cheered enthusiastically. One of them immediately stepped forward, calling out to Su Hanxing, “Senior Brother, you were incredibly dashing today!”

“Hehehehe…” Su Hanxing reached the group, unable to suppress the broad smile on his face. Such a resounding victory naturally put him in an excellent mood.

Though Chi Qiu wore a smile, her mind was still preoccupied with the matter of Ye Yan, giving her an air of distraction.

“Having achieved such a great victory today, I shall certainly treat all my junior brothers to a grand feast at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant tonight,” Su Hanxing declared with a sweeping gesture, his voice brimming with generosity.

“Long live Senior Brother!” The Tianyan Sect disciples cheered in unison. Most of their faces were flushed with excitement, and some even had tears in their eyes, clearly overwhelmed with joy.

“Little Chi, would you care to join us?” Su Hanxing turned his head to look at Chi Qiu. Immediately, the surrounding Tianyan Sect disciples shrewdly parted, creating a path for him to approach her.

“Me?” Chi Qiu paused, pointing a finger at herself, before nodding slightly in agreement.

Su Hanxing, noticing Chi Qiu’s subtle unease, kept his expression neutral. He then turned to the numerous Tianyan Sect disciples and said: “Then shall we meet at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant in the Imperial City tonight?”

The disciples all happily assented.

“Then your Senior Sister Little Chi and I will head out first. You all return to the Imperial City and prepare well; tonight, we won’t stop until we’re drunk!”

“We won’t stop until we’re drunk!”

“Little Chi, is something troubling you?”

Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing left the arena side-by-side. Upon entering the gates of their residence, he immediately inquired.

“While you were competing against Zhu Yan today, I noticed a very strange individual in the audience,” Chi Qiu replied, first sweeping her spiritual sense around to confirm no servants were nearby. “This person was standing behind a group of Heart God Sect cultivators, and his strength far surpassed mine.”

“His strength far surpasses yours? Then he must be a Dharma Manifestation Realm cultivator. Did you see his appearance?” Su Hanxing’s expression immediately turned solemn upon hearing this.

“The person was entirely shrouded in a black robe, which I believe was a spiritual treasure of no low grade, making it impossible for me to discern his features. However, he noticed my gaze and looked up, meeting my eyes. His eyes were blood-red, brimming with killing intent.”

As Chi Qiu recalled the black-robed man’s eyes, like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, even with her steady disposition, a shiver ran through her heart.

“Dharma Manifestation Realm, blood-red eyes… could it be Ye Yan?” Su Hanxing instantly remembered the portrait from the sect’s mission scroll. “Little Chi, you’ve truly helped me immensely this time! I’ll immediately use the Starfall Step to inform the sect.”

Upon realizing that this description likely matched Ye Yan from the sect’s mission, Su Hanxing was overjoyed. He grasped Chi Qiu’s shoulders, shaking her slightly, appearing ready to drag her along.

“Ye Yan is so close to us, aren’t you afraid he might attack you?” Chi Qiu, seeing Su Hanxing so elated, felt a little bewildered.

“We are currently participants in the Heavenly Martial Assembly, under the protection of the Daqi Imperial Family. Although he harbors animosity towards the Tianyan Sect, it wouldn’t be worth risking his own life. So, he won’t attack us; rest assured,” Su Hanxing confidently stated.

Chi Qiu tilted her head, then subtly took a step back, freeing herself from Su Hanxing’s hands. She nodded, saying, “Are you going to perform the Starfall Step now? I should probably step away then.”

Every major sect possessed its own unique inherited arts. Such techniques were not only highly confidential but also incredibly precious. Therefore, without waiting for Su Hanxing to respond, Chi Qiu voluntarily withdrew from the main hall, intending to cultivate in the back room.

Su Hanxing watched Chi Qiu’s retreating figure. A warmth, he knew not when, bloomed in his heart. He smiled faintly, then circulated the true qi within his body and began to perform the Starfall Step method.

“Master, today, during the Heavenly Martial Assembly’s arena matches, I discovered a Dharma Manifestation Realm cultivator. He was clad in black robes, his face indiscernible, save for a pair of blood-red eyes. I suspect he is Ye Yan, and thus I am sending this message to inform you.”

Su Hanxing chose not to inform the sect elders that Chi Qiu knew about the mission. Therefore, in his message, he claimed to have discovered the mysterious Dharma Manifestation Realm cultivator himself. Having conveyed his message, Su Hanxing slowly extended his hand forward. Several astral lights then emerged, forming an exceptionally profound Dao pattern in mid-air.

Once the Dao pattern appeared, its intricate lines began to shift and transform continuously. After approximately ten breaths, it finally stabilized. With a gentle push of his hands, the Dao pattern instantly transformed into a gate of starlight, which then vanished within the main hall.

Having completed all this, Su Hanxing did not hastily leave the main hall. Instead, he found a chair and sat down, as if waiting for something. After another quarter of an hour, a ray of starlight suddenly flew in from beyond the heavens, swiftly stopping before Su Hanxing.

Su Hanxing quickly rose. He gathered astral light at his fingertips, outlining a rune in mid-air, then merged it with the incoming starlight. In that instant, the astral light intensified, and an aged voice resonated in his ear.

“It is indeed Ye Yan. Continue your discreet investigation, and report to me once he leaves the Imperial City. I, along with several elders, will then move to apprehend and eliminate him.”